Within the ‘City of Souls,’ the dwelling don’t concern the useless

With solely about 1,700 residents, the Peninsula city of Colma considers itself small — however that’s provided that you rely the dwelling. Add the useless, and it turns into the Bay Space’s largest “city,” dwelling to greater than 1.5 million everlasting residents buried throughout 17 historic cemeteries.

Generally known as the “City of Souls,” Colma is formed as a lot by its useless as its dwelling. Kids play amongst headstones, and locals see ornate mausoleums each day on their technique to run errands; the graveyards woven into public life as parks and libraries are in different cities.

Headstones on the House of Peace Jewish Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group) 

A longtime resident since 1977 and metropolis councilmember, Helen Fisicaro stated the view from her dwelling — framed by acres of memorial parks — has by no means been unsettling.

“It’s very calming,” she stated. “We raised our kids here, and they never thought anything different of it. I remember when I had a Girl Scout troop, we took a walk to the Italian Cemetery to see the old section, where you’d find photos of young people on their gravestones — dressed in the clothes they wore in life.”

Colma’s cemeteries have additionally turn out to be vacationer locations in their very own proper.

Guided trolley excursions by the memorial parks usually promote out weeks upfront — particularly as Halloween and the Catholic observances of All Saints and All Souls draw close to in October.

A serious attraction for people who go to from throughout the nation is the graves of a few of America’s most well-known figures.

Followers nonetheless go away baseballs on the tombstone of New York Yankees corridor of famer Joe DiMaggio at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, greater than 25 years after his loss of life. In the meantime, guests go away pebbles and cash on the marker for Wild West legend Wyatt Earp, who died in 1929, in a nod to the Jewish custom of marking a go to to a grave on the Hills of Eternity Memorial Park.

The gravesite of Joe DiMaggio, Corridor of Fame Main League Baseball participant, within the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

Baseball left on the grave of Joe DiMaggio, Corridor of Fame Main League Baseball participant, within the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

The gravesite of Joe DiMaggio, Corridor of Fame Main League Baseball participant, within the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

Flowers left on the grave of Joe DiMaggio, Corridor of Fame Main League Baseball participant, within the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

The grave of Wyatt Earp, Western Marshall and gambler, and his spouse Josephine within the Hills of Eternity Jewish Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

Stones, cash and flowers left atop the grave of Wyatt Earp, Western Marshall and gambler, and his spouse Josephine within the Hills of Eternity Jewish Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

The grave of Wyatt Earp, Western Marshall and gambler, and his spouse Josephine within the Hills of Eternity Jewish Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

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The gravesite of Joe DiMaggio, Corridor of Fame Main League Baseball participant, within the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

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These two icons are amongst many well-known names buried in Colma.

The mausoleum of Levi Strauss, of Levi’s denims, within the House of Peace Jewish Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

The mausoleum of Levi Strauss, of Levi’s denims, within the House of Peace Jewish Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

The Hearst household mausoleum the place William Randolph Hearst, newspaper writer, is buried within the Cypress Garden Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

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The mausoleum of Levi Strauss, of Levi’s denims, within the House of Peace Jewish Cemetery in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group)

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An intensive record of notable tombs might be discovered on the Colma Historic Museum on Hillside Boulevard. The museum embraces the city’s distinctive position as a closing dwelling after one’s life, showcasing all the pieces from early-Twentieth-century embalming tools to the tombstones of Nineteenth-century San Francisco residents — as soon as bought in a Santa Cruz consignment store and marketed as Halloween decorations.

Numerous everlasting residents exists as a result of Colma grew to become the place the place San Francisco moved its useless within the early 1900s.

Initially an agricultural city, cemeteries started to take root in Colma after a 1901 ordinance banned new burials inside San Francisco’s metropolis limits, a choice pushed by restricted actual property and a booming inhabitants. Whereas Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery had opened earlier in 1887, it was the following mass relocations prompted by the ban that cemented Colma’s identification because the “City of Souls.”

In January 1914, eviction notices went out to each San Francisco cemetery, ordering them to take away their our bodies and monuments, in keeping with the Colma Historic Affiliation. The reburials started within the Twenties and peaked within the Nineteen Forties, after San Francisco voters formally permitted the eviction of the useless in 1937.

A newspaper clipping from March 28, 1924 on the Colma Historic Museum in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group) 

O’Connor highlighted that at present, Colma’s cemeteries mirror the area’s variety, with burial grounds honoring a variety of cultural and spiritual traditions — together with Catholic, Italian, Serbian, two Chinese language, Japanese, and Greek Orthodox cemeteries — in addition to others that serve all faiths, revenue ranges, and even pets.

Although Colma has embraced its identification, adopting “It’s great to be alive in Colma” within the Nineteen Eighties, O’Connor stated it provides a particular high quality of life for its residents.

“This is a very peaceful place to live,” stated O’Connor, who has been a resident since 1981. “It’s also very safe. And it’s like living in a small town, but near the advantages of a large metropolitan area.”

Maureen O’Connor, president of the Colma Historic Affiliation, talks concerning the museum on the Colma Historic Museum in Colma, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Space Information Group) 

The city’s repute as a cemetery metropolis isn’t with out challenges, nevertheless.

A majority of cemeteries function as nonprofits and contribute minimally to the city’s tax base. However the important funeral-related companies that assist them — together with morticians, flower retailers, and embalmers — present financial exercise and livelihood for residents of Colma and close by areas.

Past the funeral sector, Colma has labored to construct a extra various economic system lately.

The native economic system diversified additional within the Nineteen Seventies and ’80s with the opening of its first main retail facilities: the Serra Heart, the 280 Metro Heart alongside Junipero Serra Boulevard, and “auto row” on Serramonte Boulevard, in keeping with the city’s official web site.

The opening of Fortunate Probabilities On line casino in 1998 additionally boosted native tax revenues. The on line casino is named maybe the one place within the Bay Space to get a 24-hour Filipino breakfast at its restaurant, Café Colma.

Even with a small inhabitants, Fisicaro stated, Colma is dependent upon various income streams to assist its residents and the 1000’s of each day guests who cross by city.

“I know we’re small, but we have between 30 and 50,000 people come through every day,” Fisicaro famous. “So you have to take care of those visiting as well.”

And he or she needs these guests to know that Colma is not only a spot for the useless.

“It’s nice to have people realize Colma is a good place to live and work and play,” Fisicaro stated.